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Rural poverty approaches, policies & strategies in Ghana

The second phase of the Government of Ghana’s poverty reduction strategy is the Ghana growth and poverty reduction strategy: an agenda for growth and prosperity. It covers the period from 2006 to 2009, and it follows the first phase, initiated in 2002. Ghana is committed to transforming its economy to achieve growth, accelerate poverty reduction and protect poor people in a decentralized, democratic environment. The government emphasizes its will to consolidate achievements, strengthen partnerships, introduce innovation and increase policy dialogue in the coming years.
 
To achieve its goal of transforming the economy, the second phase of the strategy will:

• ensure sound economic management
• increase production and promote sustainable livelihoods
• provide direct support for human development and basic services
• provide special programmes for the vulnerable and excluded
• ensure good governance and increased capacity in the public sector
• promote the active involvement of the private sector as the main engine of growth

The strategy focuses on vulnerable and excluded people such as poor agricultural workers, particularly migrant farm hands, and traditional fishers, as well as the productive poor, including women in the informal sector, unemployed young people who have completed training, subsistence farmers and disabled persons.
 
While the first phase of the government’s strategy emphasized programmes and projects to reduce poverty, the second phase focuses on the implementation of activities that induce growth and have the potential to support the creation of wealth. The objective is to reduce poverty in a sustainable manner.
 
Government priorities include continued macroeconomic stability, accelerated growth led by the private sector, vigorous human resource development, and good governance and civic responsibility. The strategy brings together important initiatives such as the Millennium Development Goals and the New Partnership for Africa.

Source: IFAD